Sweetheart (2021)

Sweetheart (2021). Sweetheart: Directed by Marley Morrison. With Nell Barlow, Jo Hartley, Ella-Rae Smith, Sophia Di Martino. A socially awkward, environmentally conscious teenager named AJ is dragged to a coastal holiday park by her painfully ‘normal’ family, where she becomes unexpectedly captivated by a chlorine smelling, sun-loving lifeguard named Isla.

“When I was in my late teenu0026#39;s, Bill Forsythu0026#39;s u0026quot;Gregoryu0026#39;s Girlu0026quot; perfectly epitomised the angst of the school yearsu0026#39; emotions Iu0026#39;d left behind me. And I was very much heterosexual. With u0026quot;Sweetheartu0026quot;, Marley Morrison in an astonishing feature debut delivers a u0026quot;Gregoryu0026#39;s Girlu0026quot; for todayu0026#39;s much more sexually fluid times.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003ePositives:nu003culu003eu003cliu003eWhat a great ensemble cast! Itu0026#39;s all headed up by Nell Barlow, amazingly in her feature debut. Nell manages to perfectly deliver the hair-pullingly frustrating unpredictability of a teenage girl: always planning to go off doing something worthy like u0026quot;knitting jumpers for elephants in Indonesiau0026quot;. But she manages to keep the portrayal just the right side of parody, not straying into u0026#39;Kevin and Perryu0026#39; territory. u0026quot;Whatu0026#39;s wrong with you?u0026quot; asks her mother. u0026quot;Iu0026#39;m 17. Everythingu0026#39;s wrong with meu0026quot; she replies. Itu0026#39;s an immaculate performance for someone so young.u003c/liu003eu003c/ulu003eu003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eu003culu003eu003cliu003eJo Hartley is also fabulous as A. J.u0026#39;s mum, a lost soul struggling with her own worries, without having those of AJ to add to them. Itu0026#39;s not portrayed as a typical u0026#39;Mum v Teenu0026#39; battle, but beautifully nuanced. u0026quot;Just because youu0026#39;re a lesbian now, it doesnu0026#39;t mean you have to dress like a boyu0026quot; she pleads with A. J.u003c/liu003eu003cliu003eIf youu0026#39;re trying to place her, Ella Rae-Smith was the striking girl in the baseball cap in Netflixu0026#39;s u0026quot;The Strangeru0026quot;. She is also wonderful here, as the u0026#39;hot girlu0026#39; who you think has it all but is underneath deeply troubled and conflicted. A sex scene (beautifully lit and filmed – by either Emily Almond Barr or Matthew Wicks – manages to show absolutely nothing but is deliciously erotic as a result.u003c/liu003eu003c/ulu003eu003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eu003culu003eu003cliu003eThe writing by Marley Morrison feels very autobiographical. And, as I found through reading this Guardian article about Morrisonu0026#39;s gender-journey, there is a lot of personal experience in here. Itu0026#39;s clever that the film is claustrophobically set in the remote holiday park (actually the real Freshwater Beach Holiday Park near Bridport on the Dorset coast). If it had been set in a big city like London, AJ could have constantly fled from her feelings, never resolving them. Here, she is constantly running into Isla…. there is no escape.u003c/liu003eu003c/ulu003eu003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eu003culu003eu003cliu003eI also very much liked the relationship written between A. J. and Steve. Steve is almost the safety valve on the pressure cooker, always helpfully allowing some steam to escape. It adds warmth to the story.u003c/liu003eu003c/ulu003eu003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eu003culu003eu003cliu003eFor such an indie picture, thereu0026#39;s a range of great tunes on the soundtrack: mostly from bands I have never heard of (probably making it affordable). Iu0026#39;m not sure if thereu0026#39;s to be a soundtrack album released, but itu0026#39;s worth a listen if so.u003c/liu003eu003c/ulu003eu003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eNegatives:nu003culu003eu003cliu003eI wasnu0026#39;t fond of the sound mix on the film. Some of the dialogue was indistinct.u003c/liu003eu003c/ulu003eu003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eu003culu003eu003cliu003eA. J. gives us an occasional running commentary of her thoughts as a voiceover. Regular readers of my blog will know my thoughts on this subject! Iu0026#39;m not sure if it added much to the story: a u0026#39;show-not-tellu0026#39; approach would have been my preference.u003c/liu003eu003c/ulu003eu003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eSummary Thoughts on u0026quot;Sweetheartu0026quot;: I likened this film to 1980u0026#39;s u0026quot;Gregoryu0026#39;s Girlu0026quot;, and thatu0026#39;s a great compliment. That movie made stars out of John Gordon Sinclair and Clare Grogan. Iu0026#39;d predict similar great things for Nell Barlow, Ella Rae-Smith and particularly for writer/director Marley Morrison. Iu0026#39;ll very much look forward to Marleyu0026#39;s future projects. Itu0026#39;s a cracking little British film. It deserves a major cinema release, but I suspect this is one that you might need to hunt out at your less mainstream cinemas. But please do so – itu0026#39;s well worth it. Very much recommended.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003e(For the full graphical review and video, check out #onemannsmovies on the web, Facebook and Tiktok. Thank-you!)”